Lawsuit accuses hotel, concert officials in Las Vegas shooting massacre

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Attorneys representing hundreds of victims from last month's Las Vegas shooting massacre -- the deadliest in U.S. history -- have filed a number of lawsuits against hotel and concert officials.

The suits filed Monday focused on the Mandalay Bay hotel, where gunman Stephen Paddock shot dozens of people attending the Route 91 country music festival late on the night of Oct. 1. Fifty-eight people died and hundreds were injured in the attack.

The hotel, owned by MGM resorts, is accused of negligence. One suit said the Mandalay Bay had a "duty of reasonable care" and failed to monitor people entering and leaving Paddock's suite. It also says the hotel was slow to respond when Paddock first shot a hotel security guard, Jesus Campos.

"There was a decision made not to make that phone call to 911 immediately," attorney C. Chad Pinkerton said.

"Certainly, they didn't know they were going to have an evil act such as this, but they could have anticipated it; they could have foreseen it," Pinkerton added.

Paddock had VIP status at the hotel that allowed him access to a service elevator he used to transport and stockpile weapons and ammunition. Paddock also used a "do not disturb" sign on his hotel door to keep anyone from entering his room.

A lawsuit Monday said the hotel acted negligently by not monitoring the hotel premises, failing to call 911 immediately after the guard was shot, not taking notice of Paddock's weapons and failing to train employees to detect suspicious activity -- like the "do not disturb" that hung on Paddock's door for days.

Other defendants include Paddock's estate and the operators of the Route 91 concert, which was attended by more than 20,000 people.

MGM said it would defend itself against the lawsuits.

"These kinds of lawsuits are not unexpected and we intend to defend ourselves against them," the company said. "Out of respect for the victims, we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels."

So far, more than 15 other lawsuits related to the shootings have been filed.